


Wild About Knitting

by Metal_Chocobo



Category: Hockey RPF, Women's Hockey RPF
Genre: F/F, Goalies, Knitting, M/M, Minnesota Wild, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, University of Minnesota Golden Gophers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2015-09-29
Packaged: 2018-04-24 01:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4899928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Chocobo/pseuds/Metal_Chocobo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Minnesota Wild accidentally form a team knitting circle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wild About Knitting

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written before the Wild signed Dubnyk during that awful losing streak. Set during the '16-'17 season.

Sure, they had known even before Noora signed as Darcy’s backup that she was a stress knitter. The fact she knitted an absurdly long Wild scarf during the first road trip confirmed that if the photos from Sochi hadn’t convinced everyone. Not that anyone needed convincing. Knitting was low on the list of weird shit goalies did. Compared to some of the guys in the league a stress knitter between the pipes was almost distressingly normal. What no one on the team expected was that Ryan also knitted, though that shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was. He did grow up on a Wisconsin farm after all, what else was he supposed to do in the winter? However, having two knitters on the team didn’t matter until they started knitting together.

It all started on a transcontinental flight from New Jersey to Anaheim. They had won in overtime against the Devils, though it had been a near thing. Darcy pulled off an amazing number of groin wrenching saves for the win. If he were any older or less flexible a call up from the Iowa Wild would be meeting them in California. Instead Darcy just got to fly with a bunch of ice on the problem area and Noora would play tomorrow. Considering the fact he was already fighting off the side effects of jet leg, he was not about to fight her for the start.

The clicking of Noora’s needles had already put him into a light doze. She sat right beside him clicking away with her plastic needles. She preferred metal ones, but those weren’t flight worthy, so plastic it was. He hadn’t expected to sit next to her; usually that was Jason these days. However the moment four buckets of ice were set down by the goalie Zucker absconded for warmer parts near Charlie. The Nevadan was willing to skate on ice, but not sit with it. To Darcy’s surprise Noora sat down by him instead of hanging out with Haula. She said the ice didn’t bother her and the yarn acted as a great insulator.

They had waited in the plane for take off almost an hour. New Jersey received more snow than expected and now the airport had to re-plow the runways. The team tried to be patient, but the longer Delta took the more stressed they got. Back to backs weren’t fun when the games were both at home. Travel just compounded the anguish.

“Shoot,” Ryan said, speaking for the first time since boarding the plane.

“What’s up?” Zach asked.

“I just finished my book and my spare is in the cargo hold.”

“You could borrow my book on the history of hockey stats,” Zach offered. Ryan didn’t have a verbal response, but Darcy heard Noora chuckle. That meant Suter probably shot him a withering glare.

“I have spare needles if you would like to knit,” Noora said.

“I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” Ryan said.

“Really? You know how to knit?” Zach asked.

Darcy opened his eyes at that. If Ryan Suter was about to knit he wanted to see it. Currently the defenseman leaned across the aisle peering into Noora’s bag. He pulled out a pair of large wooden needles then looked over his shoulder at Parise.

“There’s a lot you still don’t know about me,” he said. “And knitting is one of the most useful skills I know.”

“Like fence building?”

“Yes.”

“You can have the lime or lavender. The rest of my yarn is already spoken for,” Noora said, interrupting the pair before it became full on bickering.

Ryan flashed her a smile and took both balls. Darcy watched in fascination as he looped lavender yarn around a needle. By the time they took off Ryan had not only started a project, but knitted an inch of lavender. Darcy was asleep by the time they reached altitude. He didn’t wake until the plane touched down again. When he awoke there was a bag of cold water on his lap and Ryan had almost a foot of purple and green striped scarf. The loops were large, but very even. The whole scarf almost looked professional.

“What are you going to do with that?” Zach asked as they rose from their seats.

“It’s not really my color,” Ryan said. He wrapped the fabric around Zach’s neck. It wasn’t really long enough, but the yarn stretched to accommodate. “But it looks good on you.”

They beat the Ducks in a third period comeback. This made it one of their most successful road trips of the season. By the time their plane touched down in Minneapolis Ryan had cast off the scarf. Despite the forward’s initial refusal Zach disembarked the plane with Ryan’s new creation around his throat.

After that Ryan got his own set of needles for road trips. He’d still bring a book or three, but regularly Ryan and Noora would sit across the aisle and trade knitting tips. It got serious enough that the pair even brought their projects to team dinners. No one else knew what to make if it. It was weird, but kinda useful? Ryan was making himself socks and Noora a pair of Wild mittens for her wife. Darcy didn’t know what to make of it.

Haula seemed to like it because he asked Noora to teach him how to knit while the goalies were stretching during practice. Darcy was surprised by how nonchalantly Noora took the request and even offered to take him shopping later that afternoon for supplies. After he skated away Darcy asked if teaching people to knit was a regular thing for her.

“Yes,” Noora said. “On women’s teams everyone eventually learns one craft or another. It is good for road trips and bonding.”

“I see,” Darcy said.

“Would you like to learn?”

“I dunno, isn’t knitting kinda girly?” The moment the words left his mouth Darcy regretted them. Noora stiffened and glared at him.

“I dunno, is liking Taylor Swift kind of girly?” she retorted. Darcy flushed. The guys had teased him about his musical tastes, but Noora never had. “If you like or want to try something, you do it. Fuck anyone who suggests you should not because you do not fit the expected demographic.” Then she stood and skated away.

Darcy felt like a heel. In the locker room he apologized to her. Noora just shook her head and said nothing. He wasn’t getting off just like that. Darcy still felt glum when Noora and Haula left practice together. It was bad enough Jason noticed.

“Dude, what’s got you so mopey? Jonas would go as far as to say your hair looks sad,” Jason asked as they entered their favorite waffle house. He flipped Darcy’s bangs, which earned him a weak smile from the goaltender. “You know it does kinda look that way. Forget to gel it?”

“Noora’s mad at me,” Darcy said. “I said knitting is girly.”

“Well isn’t it?” Jason snorted. They joined Charlie, Nino, and Mikael at a table.

“Suter does it.”

“Yeah, but Suter’s weird. He doesn’t even pay attention to hockey when he’s not playing.”

“What’s up?” Nino asked.

“Kuemps is being weird about Noora,” Jason said.

“Should we be worried?” Mikael asked.

“I just accidentally insulted her knitting,” Darcy mumbled. “It was a mistake and she called me on it.”

“That’s a shame. I think a lot of Noora’s work is pretty cool,” Charlie said. “I’m hoping to snag a spare hat or something if she keeps knitting at her current pace.”

“I would hope for socks,” Mikael grinned.

“Then I will make you socks,” Nino said. Everyone looked at him.

“Dude, you know how to knit?” Jason asked.

“No, but I’m going to ask Noora,” Nino said. “She is really good and agreed to teach Haula. So I think she’ll teach me too.”

“That’s a good idea. My ma always said I should learn to knit,” Charlie said. Charlie and Nino bumped fists as Jason shook his head. Mikael rolled his eyes.

The waitress showed up and they all placed their orders. The guys had been here enough they generally just ordered the same thing, though Charlie was the worst about that. Unsurprisingly the Bostonian ordered his usual stack of flapjacks, sausage platter, and glass of orange juice. Darcy got his fluffy blueberry waffles, which he usually covered with 100% genuine Canadian maple syrup the moment it arrived. Jason got a bacon-pancake-waffle monster. Nino got his banana and exotic fruit slathered in whipped cream all on top of a pair of waffles. It wasn’t officially on the menu, but enough people had ordered it after seeing Nino eat it that Darcy was pretty certain the restaurant now considered it an unofficial special. Mikael got oatmeal and half a grapefruit. To spice things up he asked for brown sugar today.

“You should join us, Darcy,” Nino said. “What better way to show Noora you meant no offense than asking to learn?”

“You’re joking,” Jason said.

“That’s a surprisingly good idea for you,” Charlie said. “You should do it, Kuemps. Worst that’ll happen is Noora says no or we end up with a hilarious story about the time we tried to learn how to knit.”

“Okay, I’m in,” Darcy agreed. It couldn’t be that bad with the guys.

“You guys also want to join?” Nino asked. He leaned into Mikael’s personal bubble while sporting his most inviting grin. “Eh, Mikke?”

“No thank you,” Mikael replied, lightly shoving Nino out of his face. The Swiss just laughed. Jason shook his head.

“Guys, if you wanna knit with some Gophers, more power to ya, but I have better things to do with my time,” Jason said.

“Like organize your shoe collection?” Charlie asked innocently.

“Or whoop your ass at ping pong,” he shot back.

Darcy laughed as the conversation rapidly devolved into Jason attempting to put Charlie in a headlock. Unless Charlie was in the right mood to let him Jason rarely managed it, but Darcy admired the winger for always trying. Jason had serious drive and Darcy respected the hell out of that. He loved these guys and this team. They may act a little absurd at times, but he wouldn’t change it for anything… well, the Stanley Cup might be an exception. Maybe.

Except for a shopping trip that nearly ended in disaster, Darcy didn’t think about knitting for the rest of the week. He had a pair of home game starts to handle and didn’t have the energy to worry about a new craft. He half expected Jason to tease him, but the forward never brought up knitting. Instead he was more interested in dragging Darcy along on his morning runs with Maverick, his gold lab, or swimming. Darcy liked the swimming much better than the running. Jason was a speedy little guy and competitive enough to every run into a race. However, swimming was all low-key playing. Plus Darcy really liked seeing Jason wet. 

They went to the beach every day, trying to enjoy the last of the fall weather before the lake got too cold. Darcy’s tub quickly filled with swim trunks and shorts he couldn’t be bothered with properly cleaning. This only ended when Jason saw the mess and made him do laundry while he fixed dinner. Darcy would complain, but he needed to do it anyway and he liked it when the forward fussed over him. Not that Jason would ever admit that’s what he was doing.

Sunday Darcy found himself sitting on a couch next to Nino. Charlie had claimed the chair to Nino’s right and Haula was in a beanbag chair in front of the TV. Darcy was surprised the Finn hadn’t taken the empty armchair next to him, but the center seemed content on the floor. Darcy wasn’t about to rock the boat over the seating arrangement. Haula’s choice suddenly made sense when Noora came in and dropped a massive bag on the empty chair. She then kicked Nino’s feet off the coffee table on the grounds she ate off of that. The goalie was clearly protective of her things. She dug around in her bag and produced three balls of yarn, tossing a dark green one to Charlie, red to Nino, and light blue to Darcy.

“I rolled your first balls for you, but next time you will have to prepare the skein yourself,” Noora said. “Did anyone bring needles?” The three looked at each other. Darcy remembered picking out a nice translucent pair at the store, but couldn’t remember what he had done with them after that.

“I think I left mine at home,” Charlie admitted.

“You left them at the store, so I took them home with the yarn,” Noora said with a lazy grin. She offered the three pairs of needles to the men, allowing them to each reclaim their own. “Next time you need to remember everything yourself.”

Darcy tried not to roll his eyes. Sure they had forgotten, but she didn’t need to be so condescending about it. He hoped she’d be a little nicer in her instruction. He glanced over at Haula, who had produced a small black square and was already slowly knitting. That must be his scarf. Noora told everyone they had to knit a viable scarf before she’d help them with specialized projects. Nino had been put out to hear he couldn’t immediately begin socks for Granny, but agreed to her terms like the others.

Noora carefully demonstrated how to start a project and do one line of knitting. She then came over and physically helped Darcy start his project, repeating the process for Nino and Charlie. Actually, Noora had to come over and help Nino restart his project three times. He had an unexpected habit of undoing his work as he went along. Personally Darcy found it a trifle challenging looping the yarn around the tiny point of the needle because his fingers were too big, but the concept wasn’t difficult. He certainly wasn’t about to accidentally undo his work. On attempt four Noora wrapped her fingers around Nino’s and knitted several rows with him before letting go.

“Noora, I’m home,” a woman shouted as a door slammed. Darcy thought the noise came from the kitchen, but he had no idea how the house was laid out.

“Good! Come to the living room,” Noora called back, relief evident in her voice. A taller woman in appeared carrying a case of foreign beer. She set the beer on the coffee table. While she was bent over Noora wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. When they broke apart both women had stupidly wide grins on their faces.

“Good to see you again,” Charlie grinned, setting down his knitting. “It’s been too long.”

“Likewise,” she agreed, adjusting her baseball cap. “Would anyone like a beer?” Everyone took one, starting to drink freely. It seemed like Noora was expecting the six of them to finish off the entire case that afternoon. If there was that much drinking involved Darcy could learn to love knitting.

“Is this your wife?” Nino asked.

“Yes, this is Mira,” Noora smiled, getting to her feet. She wrapped an arm around Mira’s waist and squeezed lightly. “This amazing woman is currently working on her masters in forensic science at Hamline University and keeps me on schedule. She also finds the best beer deals.”

“You hate coupons. If you bothered with them you would have cheaper beer too,” Mira said, petting Noora’s bun. They were almost as touchy-feely as the Spurgeons. It was a little unnerving for Darcy. He figured Noora would be as standoffish as the other Finns with her wife, even in a private setting like this. Mikael often was, even with his best bro, Nino.

“Are we having take out tonight?” Noora asked.

“I thought stir-fry would be easier? There was a good deal on beef and peppers. There should be more than enough to feed everyone.”

“Wait, you’re feeding us?” Darcy asked. He hadn’t realized knitting involved beer and hot meals. If this was a regular thing he’d knit with Noora daily.

“Of course.” Noora raised an eyebrow. “What do you take us for, animals? We always feed our guests.”

“That’s really sweet of you,” Darcy said. Except for the occasional leftover pot roast or lasagna from Jason, Darcy hadn’t had a home cooked meal since leaving Saskatoon for the season. 

“Think nothing of it,” Mira said, waving a hand dismissively. “We always feed the girls and this way I can force Noora to eat her vegetables. If she had her way she would eat nothing but meat and sweets before dying of a heart attack at thirty.”

“It would be a good way to die,” Noora said. Mira glared at her.

“I would prefer to go during sex,” Nino said. The goalie grinned and nodded in agreement, which earned her a punch in the arm from her wife.

“And I do not want to be a widow,” Mira said. That did sober Noora. She reached up and stroked Mira’s cheek.

“I can think of any number of fiends interested in taking advantage of a hot rich widow,” Noora said. “No, I had best eat what you tell me to so I can stick around and care for you.”

“Can someone help me with this?” Charlie asked. “Everything is skewing to the left.” The women broke off their conversation so that the blonde could aid the Bostonian. Mira departed to rattle about the kitchen.

“I apologize for the awkwardness,” Noora said. “We are not usually so melodramatic. Mira is a tad defensive when she considers my demise. Then again, I am protective of her all the time.”

The knitting resumed. Soon the earlier tension dissolved and Mira dragged a rocking chair into the room. She parked it between Charlie and Haula so she could drink and talk with the group. She wasn’t fond of knitting, but she liked the companionship. Everyone was happy to talk hockey and football. When Darcy innocently mentioned World Cup prospects it launched a heated discussion. All the Europeans had Strong Opinions about it.

Later Mira got up and made them the promised stir-fry. It was spicier than Darcy expected, but tasty. Noora hadn’t been kidding when she said her wife was a good cook. By the time dinner was over he was shocked to realize he had made significant progress on his scarf. Sure, it was lumpy and uneven, some areas appeared only half as wide as others even though he never dropped a loop, but he had made it with his own hands. Charlie’s pea green creation was in a similar state, but Haula’s looked slightly better. It was certainly longer. Darcy attributed his extra time knitting as the reason for Haula’s edge. He was going to be better than the center next time they knitted with Noora.

Nino was another matter. Instead of making the beginnings of a scarf he had entangled himself a messy yarn cocoon. Darcy lost count of the number of times Noora restarted his project for him, but by the time she was on her third beer she had given up on the Swiss; at least for tonight. However, Nino hadn’t give up, which was how he now had an entire ball of yarn wrapped around him. It was bad enough Darcy was a bit worried some of the yarn had melded with the couch. In any case he certainly couldn’t walk. Charlie eventually cut Nino free so that he could go home. By the time Darcy was ready to go home he was warm, full, and buzzed enough that Mira summoned a cab to take him and Charlie back to their apartment building.

When he got to his apartment door Darcy couldn’t figure out which pocket held his keys. Apparently he was drunker than he assumed. Luckily Charlie was still there, so he took Darcy to his apartment to sleep it off. One look at the lumpy couch and Darcy went straight to Jason’s room. Even in an inebriated state he still remembered what that couch did to his neck the last time he slept on it. As soon as he was in Jason’s room he crawled into his friend’s bed and passed out. Maverick licking his face woke him some time later. Looking around Darcy realized Jason was asleep against his back. Not wanting the dog to wake his buddy too, Darcy carefully tucked her under his arm in hopes she’d settle down and he could go back to sleep. When the lab finally calmed enough to stop hitting him with her tail things felt right.

After that Darcy and Charlie brought their knitting on road trips. Nino brought his yarn abomination too, but Darcy ignored that. He was slow compared to Noora and Ryan, but Darcy’s competition was strictly with Charlie and Erik. Speed and consistency were their judging criteria. Erik’s knitting was lightening fast, but highly inconsistent. Charlie’s rapidly developed into solid, evenly spaced loops, but at the sacrifice of speed. Darcy was middling on both, which meant he thought that before winter’s end he could get a few different projects done. Nino’s knitting was still a disaster, but he seemed happy to sit in a sea of yarn. Noora eventually made him try rolling balls and that worked much better. He’d still end up cocooning himself in the skein of yarn, but in the end there would be something usable.

It was nice knitting with the guys. Usually Darcy didn’t know what to do with himself in the time between morning skate and the team dinner. Most of the cities on this road trip were frozen wastelands buried under an avalanche’s worth of snow. Going outside was not an option. However, watching action movies while knitting and shooting the bull was pretty sweet. Before the game they’d drink cocoa, but after it Noora’d break out the vodka. When Koivu showed up with Mikael and Jonas in tow—all three carrying far more elaborate knitting projects than Darcy could attempt—after their overtime win in Vancouver, Darcy realized they had formed an official team-knitting circle.

“I had not expected you to break out your needles,” Noora said, pouring Koivu a hefty glass of alcohol. The captain beamed at her as he eased into a nearby seat.

“If the team wishes to bond over knitting then I will knit,” he said. “This is not the first activity I would have chosen, but it is already producing results.”

“What results?” Charlie asked, voicing Darcy’s thoughts. “Only Noora and Ryan have finished knitting anything.”

“Is that what you think?” Koivu asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked so pleasantly amused his eyes practically twinkled. Darcy couldn’t remember the last time Koivu was this happy; perhaps when Bryzgalov was still on the team. “What about your hat trick last week? Or Erik’s goal tonight? He finally has Pommer producing again. And Darcy was less rattled when Oshie scored on him twice in two minutes, salvaging the game long enough to get us to overtime. As the season progresses we will need every point we can get. If knitting garners us goals then we will all knit.”

“I’m really bad at knitting,” Nino admitted, turning to Mikael, “but I will make you socks somehow. I promised.”

“It is fine,” Mikael assured him. He held up the clear beginnings of a bright red sock. “I can knit them myself. See?”

“I didn’t know you could knit,” Charlie said, leaning into Jonas’s personal bubble.

“There are many things about me that you do not know,” Jonas said. He rapidly knitted something that was going to be big and dark green.

“Oh yeah? Well, was it Sutes or Koivu who made you come here tonight?”

“Both.”

Darcy caught Noora’s eye and she grinned at him. There were a lot more players knitting now than either of them had expected. He was glad to have patched things up with the other goalie. Maybe now that they were working together, and most of the guys had taken up knitting, he could get Jason to join. If not, well, maybe he could knit him something for Christmas. Or Hanukkah. Whatever. It’d be a seasonal winter gift. Jason would love a scarf.

By the time Jason was ready to learn how to knit Noora was unwilling to teach him. Jason’s anti-Gopher ways finally caught up with him, as Noora was ready to exclude him the same way he had excluded Erik for the first couple years they played together. She also didn’t appreciate how he’d sing ‘Great Green Globs of Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts’ under his breath whenever a former Minnesota player walked by in the locker room. Darcy wanted to defend Jason and make Noora teach him, but the winger had dug this hole for himself with his non-inclusive behavior. Still, he hated to see Jason looking so sad and lonely whenever he was excluded from the group. The Nevadan probably hadn’t realized how excluded Haula felt before Noora joined the squad. At least Darcy was able to make her offer a compromise.

“Fine. Because Darcy wants us to get along I will teach you to knit,” Noora said. She raised a finger in warning to show she wasn’t done talking yet, “but only if you come to a Gopher game with me and wear team colors.”

“No way,” Jason said.

“Oh come on, our hockey games are always a lot of fun. Lee and Easy are great co-captains and Sid’s shaped up to be a great goalie.”

“Good enough to replace you?” Darcy teased. Noora glanced at him.

“Not quite,” she smirked.

“No deal,” Jason snapped.

“Fine, I have more than enough people to teach.” Noora waved her arms around her to illustrate her point. Spurge, Scandi, and Dumba recently joined the Wild knitting circle and were slowly learning the craft. Zach, Pommer, and Vanek also regularly attended, but they just came to talk and drink with the team. She looked around and frowned. “Scandi! Dumba! If you want to play Cat’s Cradle fine, but do not use your projects’ yarn.” She quickly strode over to them in an attempt to save Scandi’s half-finished orange hat.

“What’s the big deal?” Darcy asked, turning to his friend. “It’s just one game.”

“I hate Gophers,” Jason grumbled. “Got a nasty concussion from one when I was still playing D1 hockey.”

“Yeah well, you live in Minnesota. Gophers are a fact of life. Suck it up.”

“You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am on your side. I got Noora to offer you an olive branch. She wants you to go one game with her. It’s women’s hockey with her old team. You’re not going to get a better deal.”

“It’s a dick move,” he huffed.

“Which is perfect because that’s exactly how you’ve been acting,” Darcy snapped. Jason glared at him. 

“I wasn’t that bad to Haula. If he really had a problem with the Gopher goading he would have said something. Dude barely has an accent and he thinks more like an American than the other Finns. Haula’s not afraid to speak up,” Jason said defensively. “If Noora had a problem with it, then fine, she should have come to me about that and not white knighted it on his behalf. That’s why I’ve got a problem with her.”

“Would you have really stopped?” Darcy asked.

“Yeah, probably. I’m not quite the ass you seem to think I am. I respect boundaries, just not hypocrisy.”

“I don’t think she’s being that hypocritical. Noora made it pretty clear that she also finds the teasing insulting. I don’t think her offer to drop gloves with you was on Haula’s behalf either.” Darcy sighed and slung an arm around his shoulders. “Look Zucks, Noora’s been a really good fit for the team and I think we could be really close. Is it wrong for me to want my best bro and my new buddy to get along?”

“I’ll think about it,” Jason conceded. “But only because you’re the one asking.”

“Great!” Darcy slapped him on the back. “That’s a start.”

“You’re coming over after the game tonight, right?” Jason asked. “I’ve got half a pot roast I don’t want to freeze and Maverick’s gotten sulky without you around.”

“Definitely. I wouldn’t miss your three day old pot roast for the world,” Darcy laughed. Jason smiled. To his surprise the skater forwent his usual pregame Gopher taunts. Maybe that meant he was also willing to consider making peace. It certainly made going home with him after the game easier.

December rolled around and all of the beginners had finished their initial scarves. Mikael was halfway through his second pair of socks, black, and Jonas almost completed his reindeer-print green sweater. Koivu’s sweater was a bit further behind schedule, but considering he was making a black and gold monstrosity of bears and crescent moons, Darcy couldn’t blame him. At least not for the lack of progress; starting it was a different matter entirely. The captain wore a lot of terrible dad sweaters, but even he had his limits. If Koivu ever actually wore this particular sweater the goalie would eat his helmet. Nino had yet to successfully knit anything, but Noora recently promoted him to her assistant for the circle and he often helped her with the craft shopping. In exchange Noora was knitting him a pair of stripped blue and white socks for Mikael.

Darcy still hadn’t made any progress on the scarf for Jason. He didn’t know what color to make it or what type of yarn to use. His own scarf was a bit scratchier than expected and he didn’t want any discomforts keeping Jason from using his gift. Until he figured these things out he couldn’t start the scarf, but he was also running out of time. Finally he decided to consult Noora at home.

“Hmm,” she hummed after he explained. “Do you know his favorite color?”

“Red, white, and blue,” Darcy said, rolling his eyes. “Zucks likes to argue that’s a single color because it’s America’s color. He’s the most patriotic guy I know.”

“Then use red, white, and blue.”

“But that’s not one color! If I used three different yarns I’d leave at least two awful knots in the scarf. You haven’t taught me how to avoid that yet.”

“Use tricolored yarn and avoid the problem entirely. I prefer variegated yarn, the type that slowly morphs from one color to the next, which leaves patches of color when you knit. However, there is also the type that strands all three colors into a single thread.”

“So I just gotta go to Jo Ann Fabrics and find the stuff?”

“I should have some variegated Americana yarn on hand,” Noora said, getting up from the kitchen counter. She motioned for Darcy to follow her. “I always keep some in stock in case another one of my girls makes the national team. Unsurprisingly, Team USA is always the most in demand.”

She led him to a closet full of yarns, fabric, and other crafting supplies. Darcy was shocked by the amount. There was an almost incomprehensible amount of yarn in varying colors, hues, and thicknesses. He didn’t even want to contemplate material composition. It made sense though. Since the goalie knitted for fun, to relieve stress, and make presents, she’d need a lot on hand for any occasion. Noora emerged victorious a few minutes later with variegated Americana yarn in hand. Darcy thanked her profusely then headed out. He had a lot of knitting to do.

Darcy didn’t finish Jason’s America scarf until the flight back to Minneapolis on Christmas Eve. He was so excited he almost messed up the cast off. However, his excitement was nothing compared to Spurge at finishing his own project. The defenseman had been working on a silky smooth lavender scarf since he first started and only just now finished it. No one got to admire it for long, because after a quick final inspection Spurge folded up the scarf, then encased it in wrapping paper.

“Congrats man, that’s for Dani, right?” Scandi said.

“Yeah,” Spurge confirmed, nodding. “It’s been really hard to keep it a secret from her. She was tickled pink to find out I started knitting.” On the way off the plane he punched Noora in the shoulder and thanked her.

“For what?” Noora asked. “You did all the work.”

“But you watched the kids for me several times so I could knit in peace,” Spurge said.

“All we did was watch My Little Pony. Speaking of which, I hope you got Zach a Pinkie Pie doll. He adores her,” Nora said, referring to Spurge’s son. He nodded. “Danielle will love her scarf.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am a wife. I have a wife. I know what wives want. She will love it.”

“And what does your wife want?” Jason asked.

“Me,” she grinned. “Which is why I am going home before she changes her mind. Good night everyone.” Then she walked away.

“She’s a little cooler than I initially gave her credit for,” Jason admitted, leaning into Darcy. The goalie automatically wrapped his free arm around him.

“Yeah,” Darcy agreed.

“You’re hanging out with me until Mikko’s dinner thing tomorrow, right?” Jason asked, looking up at him.

“I thought you were hanging out with me, at my place,” Darcy teased. Jason rolled his eyes and shoved the goalie away.

“That’s only because my place is full of Coyles. Seriously, it would have been so much easier if Charlie just flew out to Boston.”

“I’m so sorry my family inconvenienced you,” Charlie deadpanned. “There was simply no time to go to Boston with games on either side of the break. Whatever will you do spending Christmas Even with your second banana?”

“Oay, you are no longer first banana. You’re second banana,” Jason snapped at his roommate. He wrapped an arm around Darcy’s neck, pulling him down to his level. “Kuemps is my number one, right dude?”

“Right,” Darcy agreed, blushing.

Before Charlie could deliver a witty and cutting reply Jonas pushed his way into the center of the group. He shoved a brown parcel into Charlie’s hands, mumbled something about Charlie not coming to Mikko’s tomorrow, and almost sprinted away. They stared after the defenseman for a moment, and then Charlie opened the present. It was the reindeer print sweater Jonas spent the last several months creating. Charlie dropped his gear and pulled it on. It fit perfectly.

“Just for that half assed exchange he’s not getting his dino gloves until New Year’s,” Charlie laughed.

“Dino gloves?” Jason asked, giving him a look.

“Yeah, they’re bright green mittens with triangle spikes down the back to make them look like stegosauruses,” he said. Charlie shifted uncomfortably under his teammates’ stares. “Noora helped me knit them with a pattern I found. Then I added buttons for eyes.”

“Is everyone knitting presents this year?” Jason asked.

“That reminds me,” Darcy said. He shook off Jason’s arm and pulled the scarf out of his pocket. With a flourish he wrapped the Americana scarf around the shorter man’s neck. A smile spread over Jason’s face as he examined Darcy’s handiwork.

“I think that answers your question,” Charlie said. “See you on the 27th.”

They went home to Darcy’s apartment after that. Jason had prepared a tuna casserole that just needed to bake before their road trip to Arizona and Colorado. He stuck it in the oven as soon as they got in while Darcy hung up their coats. To kill time until the casserole was ready they played a few rounds of Call of Duty online. After they ate Jason blew him. Darcy didn’t know whether to be pleased or annoyed that Jason kept the scarf on when he returned the favor. He decided on the former.

They crashed into his bed after that. Darcy didn’t know if he was allowed to reach out for the other man or not, so he didn’t. He liked Jason and just about everything they did together. He just wished he had a better sense of what Jason thought of him and what their relationship was. Boundaries didn’t thrill him, but if they had ever bothered to set some Darcy wouldn’t have to constantly worry he was overstepping them. He wasn’t a mind reader. Darcy could accept whatever Jason wanted, but ‘Number One Banana’ wasn’t exactly the title for which he aspired.

Dinner at Mikko’s was a relaxed affair. Most of the guys who showed up were unattached. Jason and Darcy road over together and got there the same time as Dumba. Inside they found Jonas, Nino, and Mikael lounging, as expected. Scandi’s presence was a little surprising, as the Spurgeons had practically adopted him. The current rookies also came to eat Mikko’s Christmas ham. The captain wasn’t big on religion, but he believed in feeding his boys. Especially since most of them couldn’t feed themselves.

There was a bit of time before dinner so the guys hung out. Darcy was surprised no one was knitting. He guessed everyone was taking a breather before starting their next project. Instead presents were produced. Most of the presents were small things like food, gift cards, alcohol, or hockey tape. However, there were a few gifts of note. Nino proudly presented Mikael a small package. Inside were three pairs of beautifully knitted wool socks. Mikael picked them up in shock.

“Did you knit these?” he asked. Nino shook his head.

“No, but Noora made them on my design,” Nino grinned. He lightly touched the Finland themed pair. Underneath there were a pair of black socks and a striped green-cream pair. “I promised you hand knitted socks.” Mikael snorted then handed Nino a small box.

“Open it,” he said. Nino did as order to reveal a pair of red socks with white crosses on the ankles. Grey socks with red crosses lay underneath. Nino looked up at the Finn with a confused look on his face. “You were so set on socks I thought it would be best if I made some for you.”

“But I wanted socks for you!” Nino said. “You’re the one who wanted socks!”

“And I will treasure these,” Mikael promised, breaking out a small smile, “even if you had Noora make them.” Nino threw his waded wrapping paper at the forward.

“Where’s Haula?” Dumba asked.

“At Noora’s,” Mikael said, dodging more paper balls. One hit him in the eye. “Ouch! Stop that!”

“She invited him to come to her Gopher Hockey celebration,” Jonas added. “She and Mira host for the girls who do not go home. Noora wanted Erik there for the snowball fight.”

“We could have had a snowball fight here,” Jason grumbled. “We’d have an even better snowball fight here!”

“I do not want to get wet,” Jonas said.

“And let’s face it, it would turn into North Americans vs Scandinavians in like three throws,” Scandi laughed.

“Finland is Nordic, not Scandinavian,” Mikael corrected.

“Same difference,” Dumba said.

“Not in the slightest,” Jonas said.

“I think the point is Erik doesn’t want to get pelted by team America,” Darcy said, cutting things off before they got schooled in geography. Again.

“Don’t you mean having Jason single him out as a pet target?” Nino asked. “That is what happened last year.”

“It wasn’t personal,” Jason grumbled. Scandi burst out laughing. “Well, it wouldn’t be personal this time.”

“Prove it,” Nino said. “Take Noora’s deal.”

“What deal?” Dumba asked.

“She said she’d teach him to knit if he went to a Gopher Women’s Hockey game with her in team colors,” Darcy said. “Presumably this would also mean them burying the hatchet.”

“I am a proud Denver alumni,” Jason said. “There is no way I’m cheering for my nemesis.”

“I don’t think Colorado even has a Division I women’s hockey team,” Darcy said. “You wouldn’t be there to support the enemy, but Noora’s old team. Or if you really had to, root against the Gophers. From what I hear the visitors always need as much support as possible when they play at Ridder.”

“There’s still the team color thing,” Jason argued.

“You’re a smart enough guy to work around that,” Darcy said. “You can go in… I dunno, Gryffindor colors.”

“Dude, you should come to the Lady Gopher game I’m going to with Nick,” Scandi said excitedly. “Panthers have a free day here before going to Winnipeg and we’ve got tickets for the Gopher game against North Dakota. That’s a real rivalry. It’d be a blast if you came along, Zucks. You too, Darcy.”

“Are you certain Nick won’t mind the company?” Darcy asked. “You guys only get a couple days a season together.”

“Not if it’s getting more dudes into women’s sports. He’s got a lot of strong feelings about that,” Scandi laughed. “Bjugstad flipped his shit when we signed Noora. He was so freaked we’d send her to Iowa before he got to play her.”

“No way that’s happening now,” Darcy grumbled. She currently had a slightly better save percentage than he did and had yet to experience a regulation loss, though her win percentage was the same as his.

“Hey, Yeo and Hards both say they love having you two as tandem goalies,” Jason said gently. He touched Darcy’s arm. “You’re both pushing each other to play smarter and getting equal ice time. That’s a good deal.”

“Yeah, but I want to be the starter, like I was supposed to be when she joined.”

“She’s a three-time Olympian with a bronze medal. I’d say the fact she hasn’t been able to completely take the starting goalie position from you speaks to how awesomely you play, Kuemps.”

Darcy smiled. Jason always knew what to say.

“You’re going toe to toe with an Olympic medalist at the top of her game every day. That’s not something most guys can say.”

“Thanks man,” Darcy said.

“Anytime bro,” Jason said, slapping him on the back.

“If we’re done with the lovefest,” Scandi began, “I’d like to know how many tickets I have to buy.”

“I’m in,” Darcy said after a moment. “I’d like to hang out with Nick and it’d be nice to see if the Gophers are half as good as Noora says they are.”

“If Darcy’s in then I guess I am too,” Jason said. Darcy beamed. Jason smirked at him.

“Great, then I’ll give Noora a call and see if we’ll have a full set,” Scandi said. Darcy lost track of the conversation after that. He was just so pleased Jason was finally going to make friends with Noora.

Starting the day after tomorrow they had a series of seven games, five of which were at home. Sure, they got stuck in Columbus again for New Year’s, but at least it was close to home. The other away game was against Chicago, where they finally beat them for the first time that season. That had been a tight game the whole way through and Darcy clung to that one goal lead by the skin of his teeth during the last seconds before the final buzzer sounded. He just wished the Wild had started generating goals before the end of second period. It was such a great win he didn’t mind that Noora got the start the next night at home against the Panthers. After all, she had lost to the Blackhawks by shootout in November.

There wasn’t much Darcy could report from the bench. Noora earned her third shutout of her NHL career. She faced twenty-one shots before the Wild won by two. Zach had the game-winning goal, while Dumba earned their insurance goal. The only other thing of note was that Scandi and Bjugstad took part in what was later described as the most pathetic fight ever witnessed in the Xcel Energy Center. After the gloves came off they just sorta leaned against each other along the boards as Scandi pawed at the panther on Nick’s jersey. From Darcy’s angle it almost looked like Scandi was petting him. The ref waited awhile before blowing the whistle to see if any punches would be thrown. He sent them both to the box for holding, or as Nino later put it, hugging.

Jason tried to make Darcy forget about the Gopher game with copious amounts of sex. It didn’t work. Two hours before puck drop the goalie dragged them both out of bed for a quick shower and PB&Js. They made it to Ridder Arena with just over half an hour to spare. Noora and Mira were waiting for them with a crowd of little girls surrounding them. The goalie was fully immersed in the crowd, but Mira was able to extract herself when she spotted them.

“I am surprised you two actually showed up,” Mira greeted them, delivering each guy a fist bump. “Noora made it sound like you would chicken out then give a lame excuse to weasel out of trouble.”

“I’m not a chicken or a weasel,” Jason said. “Let’s do this.”

“Those are not Gopher colors.” Mira pointed at Jason’s clothes.

“But they’re team colors. My team’s colors,” Jason retorted, patting the front of his Wild hoodie.

“If you can get Noora to accept your interpretation of the agreement, I will take my cap off to you,” she said, tapping the bill of her Minnesota hockey hat.

“Have you seen Scandi or Bjugs yet?” Darcy asked.

“They are already inside. Promised to secure us good seats by the glass,” Mira said.

“Aren’t our seat assignments fixed?” Darcy asked. “Scandi said he got the expensive $10 tickets that come with assigned seating.”

“Most of the seats are open to interpretation,” Mira said, “which is why they are already inside claiming us nice spots. Or would you rather have poor seats?”

“I convinced the munchkins to go inside,” Noora said, appearing to wrap her arms around Mira. “I believe we should do the same.”

“Yeah, let’s get this over with,” Jason agreed. He slapped his hands together and shook himself as if preparing for a great ordeal.

“You are not in Gopher gear,” Noora said to him.

“He doesn’t have any,” Darcy interjected before Jason could say anything. They did not need to fight in public. Nor did he want Jason’s anti-Gopher stance revealed at a Gopher game in Ridder Arena.

“Well,” Noora grinned, “we will have to fix that.” The moment they were through the ticket line and in the rink Noora dragged Jason over to a tiny storefront. Before Darcy could follow Mira pulled him in a different direction.

“Let them settle this on their own,” she said. “It is best to not get involved.”

“But they might kill each other!” Darcy protested.

“The worst that would happen is that they would come to blows and they are both professionals. Noora would not let that happen here, especially not in front of children. Likely they will just chirp each other excessively.”

“How will that solve anything? We want them to be friends.”

“How do you play hockey professionally with such little understanding of bros?” Mira laughed. “Ideally we should have had them watch a US vs Sweden game before college rivalries emerged. They would have bonded for life.”

They found Scandi and Nick in the second row directly behind the Gopher bench. Mira took the leftmost seat right next to the Gopher’s entry passage. Darcy left the two seats next to her open for Noora and Jason, choosing to sit next to Nick. Once seated he quickly checked his phone for any interesting hockey news. There wasn’t really, but Darcy had to stifle a laugh after watching a clip from Bryzgalov’s post game interview last night. What he said was typical Bryz, but the black and gold sweater he had on looked suspiciously familiar. At least he now knew what Koivu had done with his knitting project. After regaining his composure he showed the footage to Scandi, who also laughed, then made small talk until a beaming Noora showed up with a grumpy Jason in tow. He wore a Minnesota Gopher Women’s Hockey, six time champions, hat. Darcy wondered if Noora bought it for him or made Jason pay for it himself. Before he could ask the Gophers made their entrance.

Both Finns were on their feet with their arms under the Plexiglas to high five the players as they passed. A dozen kids were in the same position. As the Gophers streamed by one of the girls looked up to see whose hand she was slapping. She froze momentarily before continuing her sprint, but it was enough to draw the attention of all the girls behind her. The rest of the skaters briefly grasped the Finns’ hands, but didn’t pause. The same was true of the first two goalies, but the third stopped and shook both their hands. Noora tapped her on the head, which made the goalie join her team on the ice.

“That was Sid, Sidney Peters,” Noora said to the other NHLers once she returned to her seat. “She should start in goal tonight.”

“Did you play with her?” Darcy asked.

“No,” Noora said, for once not smiling. “She replaced me on the team when I graduated.” She bit her lip as she stared at the girls in gold out on the ice.

“Noora,” Mira crooned, wrapping an arm around her wife’s shoulder. She leaned her forehead against the goalie’s.

“In many ways the Gophers were the best team I ever played with,” Noora said. “We had back to back championships, an undefeated season, and most importantly we were a family.”

“They were four magical years,” Mira agreed. “The Gophers will always have a special place in our hearts.”

“Definitely.” Noora nodded. “Once I saw Minnesota I never wanted to go anywhere else. The teams are family here.”

“I never wanted to be anything other than a Gopher,” Nick agreed. “Being in here now, it’s like time stopped and I never left.”

“Alas, time never stands still, but I have a very good lot in life now,” Noora laughed. “I get to play hockey for a living. In the NHL of all places! More importantly, the most wonderful person in the world agreed to spend her life with me. That is the best thing I could ever get, though I would not say no to an Olympic gold medal or the Stanley Cup.”

“Are you certain you should be that open here?” Darcy asked. It was still awkward watching the women be touchy-feely. Neither Finns, nor Minnesotans, nor hockey players were big on physical displays of affection. At least not this sort. Even Jason for all of his hands on preferences kept a firm two inches of space between them.

“Hug my Mira in public? Of course,” Noora said, surprised. “If I cannot hug my legally acknowledged wife here at our old school, in front of our old team in an arena where we are literally immortalized on the walls as former heroes, where can I hug her, Darcy? I am not afraid of who I am or what I feel, nor will I hide it.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Jason said suddenly.

“Which is why I do not,” Noora said. “The world will accept me as I am or it will just have to deal.”

“Bold words,” he laughed.

“The philosophy has worked so far,” she shrugged. “I have accomplished too many things in my life through determination and hard work to let personal doubt hold me back.”

“What about if you were 100% certain about something, but it turned out to be a terrible idea?” Scandi asked. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve done that.”

“Then she didn’t listen to me,” Mira teased.

When the puck dropped the former Gophers fixed their attention on the ice. Darcy couldn’t even get Nick to talk to him anymore because the Panther was so focused on the game. He and Jason exchanged a glance before finally turning their attention to the game.

Women’s hockey was always a surprise to Darcy. He tended to forget how it worked between the major televised tournaments. Sure he knew there was no checking, but he was startled how often they still managed to knock each other into the boards or the ice. It was still a contact sport. Play was slower with a lot more passing than he was used to. They made much better use of the boards and positioning for puck control. Also, the girls were sneaky with their shots, passing when he thought they were going to shoot or else shooting when they had previously passed. He was also a little horrified by the rebounds on both sides. Until the goaltender gloved it or a skater cleared it, they kept catching that puck and slapping it on goal. Darcy normally faced one to two rebounds, if that. These goalies often had four or five if they didn’t catch it right away. He was shocked and drained after first period, not completely believing the game was still tied at zero.

“Pretty good, eh?” Noora said.

“I thought the Gophers were an unstoppable powerhouse,” Jason said. “North Dakota seems to be standing up just fine.”

“North Dakota is often in the top 5 for the WCHL,” Noora said. “They have highly physical players again and have been playing well this season.”

“Your short captain is pretty good,” Jason admitted.

“That’s Dani Cameranesi, she’s leading the team in points this year and has been playing with Team USA for several years,” Nick said. When he realized he had everyone’s attention he added, “She’s consistently and dramatically improved over her time at Minnesota and she was already a great hockey player.”

“Easy also has an eight game point streak going,” Mira said. “She earned multiple points in several of those games.”

“She is an impact player. Quite fast, but also competitive,” Noora said. “She often attempted point contests with Hannah Brandt before Brandt graduated.”

“Brandt?” Scandi aside. “Why do I know that name?”

“She won the Patty Kazmaier last year and plays for the Connecticut Whale in the NWHL,” Nick explained. “I’ve also got a poster of her up in my garage.”

“Above your shitty truck?”

“Back on topic, Dani’s filled a lot of the void Brandt left on the team,” Noora said sharply. “She, Pannek, and Potomak make a deadly first line.”

“So I picked a good one for a favorite,” Jason said.

Darcy raised his eyebrows at this and glanced to his left. The winger didn’t seem to notice, but he met Noora’s eyes. She smirked at him. Neither one of them was going to say anything, but they had both noticed Jason Zucker say he had a favorite Gopher.

Second period started similarly to the first. North Dakota always played physically, but now they were really pushing the Gophers around. Darcy didn’t know if it was the imposing black and green uniforms or what, but Minnesota’s skaters looked tiny in comparison. North Dakota made the first goal by crashing into Peters and sliding her out of the crease to let a teammate shoot on the wide-open net. From Darcy’s seat that ought to have been goalie interference, but the refs seemed to think that was okay. The goal stood.

No one in Maroon and Gold was happy about this. Surprisingly, that included Jason. He angrily muttered something about not touching the goalie, Darcy couldn’t quite catch what exactly over the roar of the crowd. More importantly, the winger wrapped his hand around Darcy’s knuckles. The goalie turned his wrist so that they could interlock fingers.

“I’d deck anyone who ever did that to you,” Jason said. “Gloves off, I’d take them out.”

“Thank you,” Darcy said and he meant it. That was one of the sweetest things Jason had ever said to him.

Things did not turn around that period for the Gophers and it ended with them trailing by one. During the first intermission fans had recognized and approached the six for autographs, which did not escape the attention of Ridder staff. A group of six that contained five NHLers, three former Gophers, and two Olympians at a women’s collegiate hockey game was impossible to miss. Now in the second intermission after a scoreless second period the announcer and camera crew approached them for an interview. While they were interested in hearing from all of them, it surprised no one that they were most focused on Noora.

“Mira and I always try to attend a few games a season when we are in Minnesota,” Noora said. “She will not admit it, but I believe Mira was disappointed to watch me play the Blackhawks the same night Minnesota played Wisconsin in November.”

“I love watching your games,” Mira said, playfully shoving her wife on camera. “But I was here at Ridder for the Saturday game.”

“While we all wish Minnesota was in the lead, I have no complaints with the women’s play thus far and am confident they will turn it around in the third period,” Noora continued. The announcer then asked how they got such a large group together and the grin on the goalie’s face widened. “Zucks has never been to a Gopher Women’s Hockey game and I had to change that. Since Nick was also in town this seemed like the right time to convince a group to come to a game with us.”

“This is great hockey,” Jason said when he was asked for an opinion. “It’s a lot more competitive than I was expecting, though I should have realized it would be like this considering this was Noora’s college team.”

“Half the time it feels like she’s the most aggressive player on the ice,” Scandi added. “We love having her on the team.” The announcer then asked Darcy how he felt sharing the net with Noora.

“It’s been great, we push each other to play better,” he said, giving the official answer, though it was technically also true. He loved Noora, but he hated all the ice time he lost to her. It was the nature of the game. One of them was always stuck on the bench when the other was between the pipes. “I like having a teammate small enough I can carry her with ease.”

“Hey!” Noora said as the others laughed. The announcer then asked Nick how he felt about last night’s loss and how could he hang out with Scandella after the fight.

“The loss hurts, they always do,” Nick admitted. Scandi smiled sympathetically and wrapped an arm around Nick. “But being in Minnesota is a salve for any wound. As for fighting with Scandi, we’ve already forgotten about that. We may be opponents on the ice, but off it… we’re super close”

It was clear they wanted to ask more, but puck drop was only a minute away. At first, third period seemed like a repeat of the second. North Dakota continued to push the Gophers around as the battle rapidly shifted from net to net. The visitors were unwilling to give up their lead. Then during a contest for puck control, a North Dakota defenseman whacked Cameranesi in the chin with her stick hard enough to knock her over. The ref’s whistle could barely be heard through the roar of the crowd. Several players skated over to her and Baldwin helped Cameranesi off the ice.

“Do you think she’s going to be okay?” Jason asked. “That was a pretty serious high stick.”

“We shall see,” Noora said grimly, as Cameranesi went down the hallway.

The Gophers made good use of their power play, passing rapidly and keeping the puck in North Dakota’s zone. They weren’t making as many shots as Darcy wanted, but the ones they did take had the goalie twisting into knots to stop. Minnesota also did a good job of controlling the rebounds, which was key to their continued attack. The puck made its way back to Stecklein, but instead of passing it back to Wolfe the way she had for the last minute and a half, the co-captain lifted her stick and made a mighty slap shot on goal. The puck flew into the mass of bodies, hit Potomak in the shoulder, then bounced into the net from a weird angle. The Gophers had tied the game.

Darcy looked around in surprise as Gopher fans leaped to their feet. They spelled out ‘Minnesota,’ punching the air for each letter. After that they shouted ‘Minnesota’ twice and then ‘Gophers,’ as they waved their fists in a circular motion. It was one of the more absurd chants he had seen. Darcy met Jason’s eyes and they both burst out laughing at the seriousness of which Nick, Noora, and Mira cheered.

Cameranesi didn’t return to the ice until there were only five minutes left in the game. She seemed to be skating all right, but Darcy knew how easily one could fake it for just five minutes. After all, everyone hated to lose. He just hoped she wasn’t doing any long lasting damage to herself. She had a bright future ahead of her.

Cameranesi’s return subdued North Dakota and invigorated Minnesota. They were thrilled to have their captain back. Between whistles they patted her back and helmet as if making certain she was really there. After her initial reappearance Coach Frost didn’t send Cameranesi out again until the final minute. Piazza passed to Cameranesi, who passed to Rodgers just as they crossed into North Dakota’s zone. Rodgers carried the puck right up to the crease, saw that the goaltender was right up in front of her, so she passed laterally back to Cameranesi. The Captain easily banged it home through North Dakota’s open back door.

This time Darcy and Jason joined the others on their feet in celebration. Though they still wouldn’t participate in that silly cheer. Instead Jason pulled him into a tight hug, which Darcy gladly returned. The Gophers had finally taken the lead with only twenty-one seconds left. Minnesota maintained it long enough to get the win in the record books.

The six left Ridder Arena in a good mood. As Nick didn’t have much time left in Minnesota, he and Scandi left right away. The remaining four smiled awkwardly at each other as they stood in a semicircle outside. Darcy didn’t know if he should suggest going out for a drink or just separating and heading home. Jason fidgeted with the brim of his new hat.

“You gonna keep that thing?” Darcy asked.

“Oh yeah,” Jason said, looking down. “Enough of the girls here end up playing for Nationals or the NWHL that it isn’t a bad idea. Plus, I paid like twenty-five bucks for it.”

“We would invite you both out to diner, but the dogs have yet to eat and Noora forgot to take out the trash,” Mira said, running her fingers through her wife’s hair. “I fear we may have quite the mess to clean up when we come home.”

“That’s totally cool,” Darcy said. “We’ve gotta get back to Maverick too and Jason already bought groceries yesterday.”

“I was going to test out a new recipe on him,” Jason said. “Unlike Charlie, Darcy never complains when I want to experiment, even if I fuck it up.”

“Then I will see you both at practice,” Noora said. She glanced at her wife as Mira took her hand. “I would say this was an excellent triple date.”

“Wait, what?” Darcy said. She did not just say what he thought she said.

“Triple date? There was Mira and me, Scandi and Bjugstad, and you and Zucker,” Noora said slowly. “Did I misunderstand something?”

“I also thought you two were dating,” Mira said.

“We never meant to offend you with an incorrect assumption,” Noora apologized.

“Who said it was incorrect?” Jason said, slipping his hand into Darcy’s hand again. Darcy’s jaw dropped as the winger smirked at him. They had never talked about them, but now Jason was making an attempt to define their relationship to an outside party. “Right, Darcy?”

“Yeah, we’re totally a couple,” Darcy laughed. If he had known he could of gotten Jason to agree to be his boyfriend by having someone else ask about their relationship, Darcy would have engineered this situation last year.

“Anything else I need to correct?” Jason asked. Noora rolled her eyes.

“Only if you no longer wish to knit with the team,” Noora teased. “Bring a pair of needles and I will teach you.”

“Awesome!” Jason shouted, pumping his fist into the air as the others laughed. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I wasn’t expecting to ever get this pumped by knitting.”

“Good night, boys,” Mira said. Noora gave them a salute with her free hand. Then the women turned and walked away.

Darcy looked down at Jason as the winger stared at their retreating friends. After a moment he noticed the attention and looked back up. They grinned nervously at each other. Their hands were still linked together. This was fantastic, but Darcy didn’t know for sure if their new status was solely due to Jason’s bravado, or if he really meant it. Darcy didn’t want him to back out now.

“Shall we go home?” Jason asked.

“Did you really mean it?” Darcy asked. “What you said to Noora?”

A lazy grin spread over Jason’s face. He reached up and pulled Darcy down by the neck for a kiss. When it was over he pressed his face into the goalie’s neck and just held him.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it,” Jason muttered. “You’re my guy and I’m not letting you go. I mean, if the girls noticed how much we like each other, and they’ve barely spent any time with me, then it must be pretty fucking obvious we’re together. May as well make it official.”

“Yeah, okay, let’s go home,” Darcy agreed. He lightly pecked Jason before straightening. Jason slipped an arm around Darcy’s waist allowing the taller man to wrap his arm around Jason’s shoulder. “What are we having for dinner?”

“Shrimp scampi,” Jason said. As they walked back to the car he earnestly described how he planned to make the dish. Darcy was only half listening, more interested in watching his boyfriend’s animated face. He had always figured Jason and Noora getting along was going to be good, but he hadn’t realized it was going to be quite this great.


End file.
